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Parents calling for venue change for North Meck and Julius Chambers HS basketball match-up

Those at Julius Chambers High School say they weren't given an equal opportunity to grab tickets to the game, and have COVID-19 concerns with a sold-out crowd.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On Friday night, North Mecklenburg High School and Julius Chambers High School will match up in girls and boys rivalry varsity basketball games. But before that happens, some parents at Chambers hope the location of the game changes -- for the sake of fairness and safety, they say.

Earlier in the week, online tickets for the game went on sale and sold out in only a few short hours. A spokesperson for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools says all school year it's been policy for sporting event tickets for the week to be open to the public starting at 6 a.m. Monday. 

But parents at Julius Chambers say they never got that memo and had always gotten tickets the day before the event.

“We got no notice, the athletic director got no notice, the coaches got no notice that the tickets went on sale," parent Karen Cain-Henderson said. “That’s unfair to the Julius Chambers team, for the parents, the fans that we’re not going to be in the stands for our players.”

In addition, with a sold-out game, parents worry there are COVID-19 concerns in such a small space. Many are now proposing the game venue be changed.

“We’re looking at Johnson C Smith, we’re looking at maybe Johnson & Wales," Cain-Henderson said. "Somewhere that will be able to hold this type rivalry game and keep our social distancing based on the fact that we’re in a pandemic.”

CMS says they already have COVID-19 protocols in place to allow their gyms to safely operate at full capacity. There will also be CMS police, Huntersville Police and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police on campus during the game to ensure added safety and security.

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